Many of the requests made to Google by public figures hoping for links to embarrassing information about them are likely to be turned down, the company's CEO Larry Page has said.

Following the recent European Court ruling that individuals should have the right to request links to embarrassing or outdated information about them be taken down, Google has received thousands of applications.

Mr Page told the Financial Times he worried about the effect the 'right to be forgotten' ruling would have on democracy over time if the search engine did not "do that perfectly" with regards to politicians attempting to remove information.

But those that are wrongly smeared have every right to rebut allegations made against them. Google is merely the messenger. But I can see Google having to offer up via court order the ISP info on bloggers that spread malicious lies.

That is, I believe, the design. It was ordered from EU court and cannot be binding elsewhere in the world.

Now, sometimes Google already suppresses search results such as kiddy porn and photographs from “shame sites” like those which archive ephemeral government mugshots with daily screen scrapes. (An arrest mugshot by nature can not furnish any information about whether the person pictured was subsequently exonerated.) They’re private and can shape their internet presence any legal way they wish.

In the US, public figures lose a lot of legal protections over notoriety. It’s part of classical 1st Amendment understanding.

Anyhow, I expect a lot of leaks via foreign proxies. On the internet, nobody needs to know you are not an American. The leak situation may ultimately be used in litigation to rescind these rules, by showing that they are pointless.

11
posted on 05/30/2014 10:16:15 AM PDT
by HiTech RedNeck
(Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)

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